█ HAWKERS
Downtown, St. Petersburg, FL : [2016]
An old building from the early 1920s is transformed into the new home of Hawkers. Located on a rapidly revitalizing commercial corridor in downtown, St. Petersburg, the challenge was to develop an architectural solution that would abridge the existing masonry and wood structure with a new building addition. Considering situation of the site on a busy intersection, GDP proposed an urban addition that would draw attention to the business and add value to the existing building. . The addition composed primarily of structural steel and glass offers maximum transparency and visually engages pedestrians with the programming within. A generous covered outdoor space that emerges as an extension of the steel framework allows the restaurant's activities to become a part of the street scene. The choice of steel and glass as the primary materials for the addition serves to juxtapose the materiality of the existing building, thereby highlighting and celebrating the differences in age and construction methods of both. Brick veneer and Corten metal paneling are used on the restaurant's interior and exterior to marry the addition to the existing building.
The exterior approach to materiality is carried into the building's interior, where there is a liberal use of steel, wood, masonry, and concrete. Modest materials that are rich in texture are utilized to create an interior atmosphere that alludes to specific themes in Asian culture while maintaining and overall industrial aesthetic